First Draft, Take Two

Greensboro Bound launched a curated Open Mic series, First Draft, in April. The concept behind First Draft is simple: invite a few writers from different stages of their literary careers to read works-in-progress, then open part of the program up to audience members who want to read their works-in-progress. First Draft seeks to build writing community across levels of experience and genres. All writers, all bodies, all folks, are welcome. Perfection is absolutely not required.

Our first evening involved a goblet from which names were drawn for open mic slots. An installation art piece by Michael Thomas hung from the ceiling. Michael, who just graduated from A&T University, was a featured reader. Other curated readers that evening: High Point University senior, Lauren Fitch; poet Kate Kehoe; writer Deonna Kelli Sayed; and spoken word poet, Ashley Lumpkin.

The back of Scuppernong Books transformed into a bonafide literary salon. From the Goblet of Readers came high school students, bloggers, storytellers, poets, and so many more.

First Draft is happening again on Monday, July 9th, at 7 pm, Scuppernong Books. Curated readers for the second First Draft are:

Shannon Jones is a bookseller and mother of two who writes frantically in the spare minutes between parenting and working. Never having ascribed to the idea that art and science are alien worlds, she continued writing fiction while earning her BS in Biology from Appalachian State University. She can usually be found outdoors or behind the counter at Scuppernong Books, where she has been known to press piles of her staff picks upon unsuspecting customers.

Ray Whitaker has been writing both prose and poetry since he was seventeen. He has two books published, and two at publishers for consideration. Currently Ray is working on another book, his fifth. He draws on many of his work experiences in healthcare for inspiration. Ray does readings around the state, and is a member or the North Carolina Poetry Society and The Winston-Salem Writer’s Group. He has thrice been a “Writer-in-Residence” at the Weymouth Center For The Arts and Humanities in Southern Pines, NC. Learn more about Ray here.

A North Carolina native, Krystal A. Smith (i.e. K.A. Smith) is a Black lesbian writer of poetry and speculative fiction. Her poems have appeared in Tulips Touching (2011) and recent short stories have appeared in Ladylit Publishing’s Summer Love: Stories of Lesbian Holiday Romance(2015) and Lez Talk: A Collection of Black Lesbian Fiction (2016). Krystal holds an M.A. in English from Western Carolina University, and a B.A. in English from Appalachian State University. She is the author of Two Moons: A Collection of Short Fiction (2018). Twitter: @authorkasmith

Open Mic slots are available and will be drawn from the Goblet. Open mic readers get 5 minutes. If your name doesn’t fall from the Goblet this time. Don’t worry. First Draft will be a quarterly program.